Panthers' scoring depth on full display in playoffs. ‘We can't be a one-trick pony'
Pick a Florida Panthers player — any Florida Panthers player — who has appeared in a game this Stanley Cup playoffs, and chances are he has probably scored a goal.
After the Panthers' 6-1 win agaisnt the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, a win that gives them a 3-2 advantage in the best-of-7 second-round series, 17 of 22 Panthers skaters who have participated in the postseason have found the back of the net so far through 10 games this playoffs.
It's the first time since the 1993 Los Angeles Kings that a team has had 17 unique goal scorers through its first 10 games of a postseason.
On Wednesday, four players scored their first goal of this playoffs to turn a 1-0 first-period lead into a 5-0 edge in the third period.
The newcomer scoring barrage started with defenseman Dmitry Kulikov's shot form the point 6:08 into the frame that bounced off Toronto forward Scott Laughton's stick and into the net to put Florida up 2-0 6:08 into the second period.
Forward Jesper Boqvist, back in the lineup in place of the injured Evan Rodrigues after being a healthy scratch in Games 3 and 4, made it 3-0 10:05 into the second when he scored from up close on a feed from Sam Reinhart.
Defenseman Niko Mikkola capped a three-goal second period with a blast from the top of the left circle to make it 4-0 Florida with 5:59 left in the second.
Forward A.J. Greer then made it 5-0 6:23 into the third when he scored on a Jonah Gadjovich rebound.
Defenseman Aaron Ekblad and center Sam Bennett also scored for the Panthers on Wednesday.
'We have a deep team,' Mikkola said. 'We can't be a one-trick pony. We need to have guys who can step it up sometimes. It's great to see.'
Here's the full breakdown of Panthers goal scorers so far this playoffs by number of goals scored:
▪ Six goals: Sam Bennett
▪ Four goals: Carter Verhaeghe
▪ Three goals: Sam Reinhart, Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Anton Lundell, Nate Schmidt
▪ Two goals: Brad Marchand, Seth Jones, Aaron Ekblad, Eetu Luostarinen
▪ One goal: Dmitry Kulikov, A.J. Greer, Niko Mikkola, Jonah Gadjovich, Jesper Boqvist, Uvis Balinskis
Rodrigues, fellow forwards Mackie Samoskevich, Nico Sturm and Tomas Nosek, plus defenseman Gustav Forsling are the only Panthers who have not scored a goal yet in the playoffs. Sturm is the only one without a point, as the other four have each logged at least one assist this postseason.
This and that
▪ With a secondary assist on defenseman Kulikov's second-period goal, Tkachuk became the ninth-fastest U.S.-born player in NHL history to 70 career playoff points, doing so in 81 games. He trails only Brian Leetch (54 games played), Kevin Stevens (56), Craig Janney (64), Jake Guentzel (72), Patrick Kane (73), Joe Mullen (73), Jeremy Roenick (76) and Phil Kessel (77).
▪ The Panthers' first periods have been much better during the past couple games after struggling early to begin the series. In Games 4 and 5, the Panthers held a combined 63-21 edge in shot attempts, 28-10 advantage in shots on goal and 31-11 lead in scoring chances in the first period. Just as important, Florida outscored Toronto 1-0 in the first period in both games.
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